V

A TRANSLATION OF THE FOUR GOSPELS

 CAMBRIUOK

PUINTKI) BY JONATHAN PALMER

ALKXAXURA STRKET
 I [From a photograph by Mrs. S. S. LEWIS.
i

KXD OF THE GOSPEL OF MARK.

(a) Mark xvi. 1. (
e Row of dots (red).
)

(b) Mark xvi. 7. (/) Title of Luke (rubric),

(e) End of v. 8. (?) Luke i. 1.

(d) Here endeth the Gospel of Mark (/*) "to write" Luke i. 3.
(rubric). (if) Blank space between the two columns.
 A TRANSLATION
OF THE

FOUR GOSPELS
FROM THE

SYRIAC OF THE SINA1TIC PALIMPSEST

AGNES SMITH LEWIS, M.R.A.S.

AUTHOR. OF "GLIMPSES OF GREEK LIFE AND SCENERY"
A CATALOGUE OF THE SYRIAC MSS. IN THE CONVENT OF ST. KATHARINE
ON MOUNT SINAI," ETC.

Honfcon

MACMILLAN AND CO.

AND NEW YORK
1894
 CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ix

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW ... ... ... ... ... ... 1

GOSPEL OF MARK ... . ... ... ... ... ... 59

GOSPEL OF LUKE 95

GOSPEL OF JOHN ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 165

APPENDIX I. 209

APPENDIX II. ... ... 231

 " Jesus Let not your heart be troubled ; believe in God,
said,

and in me ye are believing" John xiv. 1.

 INTRODUCTION.
THE text of the lately-discovered Codex of Old Syriac

Gospels is now before the public, and as a translation into

English has not been appended to it, the time seems to have

come when students of the Bible, who are not Syriac scholars,

should be made acquainted with the contents and charac-

teristics of this ancient document. We think that the cause
of truth will be best served by placing a translation of the

whole text before our readers, and not merely isolated pass-

ages, which are apt to be misconstrued when detached from

their surroundings. And in order that they may be the
better able to form an opinion as to the value of the text, we
shall introduce it with firstly, a short narrative of how the

manuscript was discovered and transcribed; secondly, the

relation which it is supposed to hold to other Syriac versions ;

thirdly, a description of the manuscript itself ;

and fourthly,
what appears to us, at first sight, to be a few of its leading

features.

I. How THE MANUSCRIPT WAS DISCOVERED AND

TRANSCRIBED.

The convent of St. Katharine on Mount Sinai stands on

the barren granite rocks of a narrow desert valley 4500 feet
above the level of the Eed Sea, and some 2800 feet below the
summit Mousa, on whose precipitous side it rests. A
of Jebel

community of monks dwelt there from a very early period,

keeping alive the traditions which cluster around the spot;
b
X INTRODUCTION.

traditions ofMoses watering sheep at the well of Jethro ;

of

the rock which gushed with water at the touch of his rod ;
of
the burning bush which flamed on a spot now covered by the
apse of the convent church ;
and of the cave, a thousand feet

higher, where Elijah was fed by ravens, and where he heard

the still small voice. Several other monasteries flourished in
the rocky valleys of that wonderful block of pink granite

mountains, of which the lower part is called Horeb, and the

upper part Sinai ;

and numberless are the caves of hermits,

chiefly Egyptian, who in those early days burrowed like

rabbits amongst the sandstone or limestone cliffs of the desert

peninsula. The convent of St. Katharine was in the sixth

century turned into a fortress by Justinian, who surrounded

it with a massive wall ;
and we may well imagine that as the

smaller convents fell into decay, or were threatened by tur-

bulent or fanatic Bedawiri, not only their monks but their

manuscripts were transferred to it as to a place of safety.

This may account for the wealth of literary treasures
which have been accumulated within these ancient walls,
where indeed there is little accommodation for their due

keeping. The Greek MSS. catalogued by Gardhausen are

about 1223 in number; the Arabic MSS., according to the
list published by my sister, Mrs. Gibson, number about 629 ;

the Syriac MSS. 267 and ;

the Iberian MSS. perhaps 100. Some
of these are neatly arranged on book-shelves, but the greater
part are stored in chests, and are therefore inaccessible to any
traveller who cannot make his wants known to the monks,
and inspire them with confidence in his own integrity.
Books which have lost their bindings are kept in large
baskets, and from one of these probably Tischendorf extracted
 INTRODUCTION. XI

in 1844 the famous Codex Sinaiticiis, which, containing as it

does a Greek text of nearly the whole Bible, has been of such
inestimable value in textual revision. It has been a cause of
irritation to the monks that they did not succeed in keeping

this treasure in their possession. Partly to this, and partly

to the fact that Western scholars are usually ignorant
of modern Greek, we may attribute the fact that a chest con-

taining ancient Syriac MSS. has lain there undisturbed for

centuries. Professor Palmer saw its contents in 1868, and
thus refers to them :

"Amongst a pile of patristic and other works of no great

age or interest, are some curious old Syriac books, and one or
two palimpsests. My hurried visit prevented me from examin-
ing these with any great care ;
but they would no doubt well
repay investigation." The Desert of the Exodus, Vol. I.
p. 70.

The first real examination of these books was reserved for

Mr. Rend el Harris, who in 1889, after a stay of fifteen days
at the convent, contrived to disarm all prejudices, and to

obtain access to these hidden treasures. How he then found

the Syriac text of the Apology of Aristides has been told else-

where, and I refer to it only because it awakened in both

Mr. Harris' mind and in my own the conviction that there

was something more in the convent, a conviction which induced

me and my twin sister, Mrs. James Y. Gibson, to fulfil a long-
cherished wish by visiting Sinai in February 1892.
Amongst the ancient volumes which were produced for

our inspection by the late Hegoumenos and Librarian, Father

Galakteon, was a thick volume, whose leaves had evidently
been unturned for centuries, as they could be separated only

by manipulation with the fingers and in the case of ff. 65, 66,
;
Xli INTRODUCTION.

by the steam of a kettle. A single glance told me that the

book was a palimpsest, and I soon ascertained that the upper

writing was a very entertaining account of the lives of women
saints, and that its date was, as I then read it, a thousand
and nine years after Alexander, that is A.D. 697. After the
"
word " nine there is a small hole in the vellum, which, as Mr.
Rendel Harris occupies the place of the syllable
believes,
" " "
corresponding to the ty of ninety," and the date is thus

probably A.D. 778.

I then examined the more ancient writing which lay

beneath It is in two columns, one of which is always

this.

projected on to the margin, and it is written in the same

Estrangelo character, but in a much smaller hand than the

later writing which covers it. It was also slightly reddish in

colour. As I glanced down the margin for over 280 pages,

every word that I could decipher was from the Gospels and ;

so were the lines which at the top or bottom of several pages

were free of the later writing. And few indeed were the
pages which had not a distinct title, such as " Evangelium,"
"da Mathai," "da Marcus," or "da Luca." My sister could

not at that time read a single letter of Syriac, although she

has since acquired enough to give me very material help in
the preparation of this volume. I however succeeded in im-
pressing these facts on her mind, and obtained her assistance in
photographing the whole of the volume, and I also made an
index to it by copying the top lines of each page in the later
writing.
Our photographs, though they were the work of novices in
the art, were fairly successful; and after we had ourselves

developed them, they were shewn to more than one Semitic

 INTRODUCTION. Xlll

scholar. Most of our learned friends, however, had not

sufficiently keen eyes, nor indeed sufficient time to read what

we assured them was a copy of the Gospels written not later
than the fifth century. At last they were shewn to Mr. F. C.

Burkitt, and he took them to the late Professor Bensly,

who was then engaged on a critical edition of the Cure-

tonian Gospels, and to whom the Old Syriac text was there-
fore most familiar. The decipherment by him and by Mr.
Burkitt of a page was sufficient to enable him to pronounce
that we had discovered a text of the same type as the
Curetonian. But as the whole of it could not be transcribed
from my photographs, we at once organized a second expedi-

tion, which took place in the early part of 1893.

On this second expedition, Professor Bensly, Lecturer in

Aramaic to the University of Cambridge, Mr. J. Rendel

Harris, University Lecturer in Palaeography, and Mr. F. C.

Burkitt went for the purpose of transcribing the text of the

Gospels directly from the manuscript, Mr. Burkitt having

already copied some thirty pages from my photographs. Two
of these gentlemen were accompanied by their wives, whilst

my sister and I went in order to ensure their getting access to

the volume, as well as to continue our researches.

The monks received us with great cordiality, especially
Father Galakteon, who at once entrusted the palimpsest to

my keeping.had already divided my photographs amongst

I

the three transcribers the first 104 pages to Mr. Rendel

Harris, pp. 105 to 200 to Mr. Burkitt, and pp. 201 to 284 to
Professor Bensly. This division determined the arrangement
of their work, which they accomplished in forty days. None
of them could have published his results separately, the four
XIV INTRODUCTION.

Gospels having been all interleaved with each other when the
vellum was used for the Martyrology. Mr. Burkitt compared
what he had already copied with the original, whilst I brought
up a great deal of the faded writing by the application of a
chemical re-agent hydro-sulphide of ammonia recommended
to me by Mr. Scott, of the British Museum.
Our return home was saddened by the unexpected death
of Professor Bensly. He had seemed to thrive on the hard-

ships of the desert journey, but his health had long been
precarious ;
and the careful nursing of his devoted wife could

not ward off the attack of the insidious disease which carried
him off only three days after his return to Cambridge.
As some of the pages which had fallen to his lot and to
that of Mr. Burkitt were still undeciphered, I placed fresh
photographs, representing these, at Mr. Burkitt's disposal
after our return home, with the result that a good many
lacunae in the text were filled up by him.

II. RELATION OF OUR CODEX TO OTHER SYRIAC VERSIONS.

Syriac, or more properly Christian Aramaic, was the first

language into which the New Testament was translated and ;

as the Greek text itself was written by men who habitually

thought in Syriac, the early versions in this tongue have a
closer affinity with the original text than those of any other
can possibly have, not excepting the old Latin. Aramaic was
once popularly supposed to be a corrupt form of Hebrew;
but that is a mistake. It is a language quite as regularly
formed, and with a grammar quite as distinct, as either
Hebrew or Arabic. Almost our first record of its use is from
 INTRODUCTION. XV

the lips of Laban. In Gen. xxxi. 47 we read that when Laban

and Jacob set up a heap of stones as a witness of the covenant
between them, Jacob called it, in good Hebrew, Galeed ;
and
Laban, in equally good Aramaic, Jegar-sahadutha. We there-

fore conclude that Aramaic was the vernacular of Mesopo-

tamia, the cradle of Abraham's family.
That it was also the vernacular of Palestine in our Lord's

time, the language spoken by Him and in which He addressed

the multitude, there can be no doubt. Not only the proper
names of persons and the names of places which occur in the
Four Gospels tell us this, but various Aramaic phrases em-
bodied in the Greek text, such as "Epphatha," "Talitha

cumi," and the last despairing cry of our Lord on the cross,
"
Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani," are not translated in this Old

Syriac version, for the good reason that they are part of the
text itself.

There are also other indications. Semitic peoples delight

in puns, and in assonances or jingles of words. We need not

go far to prove this. The Quran derives much of its supposed

sanctity from this cause alone. Babylonian royal decrees and

Arabic law documents are all enlivened by it. And in the

Syriac version of our Lord's discourses it seems as if one word

had sometimes suggested another. For instance, John viii. 34 :

"He who committeth sin is the slave of sin." Here the word
" "
and the word " slave " are both
for commit for regular forms
of the trilateral verb 'bad. There is a similar play on the
same word Luke "I do and he
in vii. 8, say to my slave, this,

doeth it."

Another, which has been detected by my sister, Matt. x. 30 :

"But the very hairs of your head are all numbered." The
xvi INTRODUCTION.

" hairs " " "

word for is mene, and the word for number is mna,
both probably from the same root.
Also Matt, xxvii. 6, dmaya ennon da dmd "the price of
blood."

In Matthew x. 13 we have, "And when ye come into an

house give peace to it
[that is, salute it],
and if the house be

worthy, your peace shall rest upon it, and if not, your peace
shall return unto you." In the Greek text acnrdcraa-Oe
("salute") has no verbal relation to elprjvrj ("peace"). We
therefore conclude that our Lord gave this direction in a
Semitic tongue, and used either the Hebrew shalum or the

Syriac shalma.
The alliteration memath tamoth of Mark vii. 10 can be
"
reproduced in an English idiom, die the death," though it is

absent from the Greek.

In John xii. " And I be lifted up from the earth
32, I, if

will draw all men unto me," the word "lifted up" has the
" be crucified."
secondary sense of
In John xx. 10 there is in the Greek text an expression,
cnrijXdov . . .
Trpo? eauroiX', which is not classical, and may

perhaps be a translation of the Syriac ezal lahun.

And in John xx. 19 the curious grammar of 777 jua rwv
<ra/3/3uT(i)v is at once explained by the Syriac had beshaba.
These last two examples may have sprung from the Evan-
gelist's thoughts being habitually in Syriac.
St. Paul must have been thinking in Aramaic when he wrote
to the Romans (xiii. 8) : wa lenash medem la tehubun, ella had
lehad lemaMbbu "Owe
no man anything, but to love one
another." Here the word Mb ("owe") is not the same as
Jialb (" love "), but the sound is very similar : as in the case of
 INTRODUCTION. XV11

dmaya and dmd. Our Lord himself may also have made a play
on the same words in the story of the two debtors, as recorded
in Luke vii. 41, 42. And in the Palestinian Syriac, the words
addressed by the risen Saviour to Mary Magdalene are s6
rhythmical, that we feel as if they must be the very accents
which fell from His lips :
AttatJia, ma at bakia, leman at ba'ia
"
Woman, why weepest thou, whom seekest thou 1 "
The Aramaic Christians adopted the name of Syrians,
bestowed on them by the Greeks, because they, the Aramaia,
did not wish to be confounded with Armaia (the heathen), and
the country of Aram was henceforth known as Syria.

The first specimen of literature they possessed was pro-

bably a translation of the Old Testament, which was read in
their synagogues. The next was a version of the New Testa-

ment (if we may not count the original of Matthew's Gospel),

and after that, translations of the early Fathers, and of the

works of Greek philosophers. Some of these have come

down to us in a Syriac dress only. Syriac literature can shew
no work of original genius, and it is prized chiefly for the light
which it throws upon the history of the New Testament.
One of its most valuable products was the Diatessaron, or
Harmony of the Four Gospels, composed by a Syrian named

Tatian, in the second century. Whether he made use of a

Syriac or of a Greek text is not yet ascertained. But this

Harmony was so highly valued, that for three centuries it

supplanted every other book in the worship of the Syrian
churches. At some period between A.D. 411 and A.D. 435
Bishop Rabbula, of Edessa, promulgated an edict that it must
be replaced by the Separate Gospels. From that time copies
of Tatian's work began to disappear, and its text is known
XV111 INTRODUCTION.

to us only from quotations in an Armenian version of

Mar Ephraim's Commentary, and in an Arabic translation, of

which two copies exist in the Vatican Library. These have
been edited by Ciasca.
" "
The Pe'shltta, or simple version, which seems to have

replaced the Diatessaron, is one which underwent successive

revisions in order to bring it into harmony with the Greek
codices ;
and it is, in fact, the Syrian Vulgate.

Quotations in some of the Fathers had suggested to Gries-

bach, Hug, and others, the existence of a version older than

the Pe'shltta before the happy discovery by Canon Cureton in
1842 of the British Museum MS., which now numbered Add.
is

14,451. This was one of a number of MSS. which had been

brought to the Museum from the convent of St. Mary Deipara,

in the Nitrian Desert, Egypt, by Archdeacon Tattam. It is

written in a clear, distinct hand, only one leaf being palimp-

sest; and it did not therefore present the same difficulties

to a transcriber which our Sinai codex did. But it has been

seriously mutilated, and the sum of its contents is as follows :

Matthew i. 1 viii. 22 ;
x. 32 xxiii. 25 ;

Markxvi. 1720;
John i.
142; 5 iii. viii. 19; xiv. 1012; 1519;
2123 2629 ; ;

Luke ii. 48 iii. 16 ;

vii. 33 xvi. 12 ;
xvii. 1 xxiv. 44.

and from some of these verses a few words are missing.

Other Syriac versions are :

The Philoxenian, made by Philoxenus, bishop of Mabbogh,

about A.D. 508. (A revision of this, made by Thomas of
Harkel a century later, is called the Harklensian.)
 INTRODUCTION. Xl'x

The Palestinian Syriac version, whose origin is attributed

by Noldeke to the fourth or fifth century, and which is now

extant only in the form of a Lectionary. Till our visit to

Sinai in 1892, only one copy of this was known to exist, that

in the Vatican Library, which has been edited by Count

Erizzo-Miniscalchi and by Paul de Lagarde. Its date is about

A.D. 1029. The copy discovered by me at Sinai in 1892 is

dated A.D. 1104, and that which Mr. Rendel Harris found in
1893 A.D. 1118. The translation is from a Greek manuscript

quite independent of any that are now extant ; yet it agrees

in the main with the Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Vaticanus.
A fresh edition is in course of preparation.

III. DESCRIPTION OF THE MANUSCRIPT.

The manuscript is numbered 30 in the convent library,

and is a complete book so far as the later writing is concerned.

Its material is a strong vellum, the outer pages only being
disposed to crumble. Here we find in sober fact what hap-
pened only metaphorically in the middle ages the Word of

God completely obscured by the legends of the saints. John

the Recluse, of Beth-Mari, Kaddish, being in want of vellum,

pulled to pieces a copy of the Old Syriac Gospels, and wrote

above them his Select Narratives of Holy Women, viz. :

Thecla, Eugenia, Pelagia, Mary or Marinus, Euphrosyne,

Onesima, Drusis, Barbara, Mary, Irene, Euphemia, Sophia,
Theodosia, Theodota, a short Creed, Susanna, Cyprian and
Justa, and some verses of a metrical Homily of Mar Ephraim,
about Paradise.
The text of the Gospels underlies about 284 pages on 142
leaves of this Martyrology. But it did not suffice for the
XX INTRODUCTION.

wants of John the Recluse. To obtain a further supply of

vellum for his stories he made use of four leaves from a fourth-

century Greek MS. of the Gospels ; many leaves from a volume

of Syriac Apocrypha containing the Acts of Thomas and the
Repose of Mary, and more leaves from another Greek MS.
which has not yet been identified.
The stories in the Martyrology are of a very racy character,
and throw a curious light on the monastic life at its prime.

They have apparently been well read, perhaps by generations

of Sinai monks, if we may judge from the thumb-stained

margins. Iberian monks have certainly at one period handled

the volume, for they have re-numbered its quires in their own
tongue. To complete our description of this interesting volume
we must state that Mr. Rendel Harris detected the existence
of a still more ancient writing beneath that of the Gospels, in

this the very oldest specimen of a palimpsest which has as yet

come to light.

IV. A FEW OF ITS LEADING CHARACTERISTICS.

Of the titles to the four Gospels two only have been deci-

phered, those to Luke and John, with the colophons to Mark,

Luke, and John. The spaces between the end of one Gospel
and beginning of another were pronounced to be blank, but at
Mr. Harris' suggestion I applied my re-agent to them, and

they came up in a rich reddish-brown colour. One result of

this is that we have their title at the very end. It reads

thus :

" Here endeth the

Gospel of the M<~pharr?she four books :

Glory to God and to his Christ, and to his Holy Spirit.

Let every one who reads, and hears, and keeps, and does,
 INTRODUCTION. xxi

pray for the sinner who wrote it.

May God in his tender

mercy forgive him his sins in both worlds. Amen and

Amen."
The " M
mpharr8sh
epithet is
applied to the Gospels both
in Cureton's MS. and in the Sinai one. In our text it bears

unmistakeably the two dots which denote the plural. It is

therefore a term to be applied to all the four Gospels, just as

evayyeXiov in the colophon of our text means "Gospel"

generally in the old patristic sense. The question now is,

What meaning are we to attach to it ?

Cureton applied to Bernstein, who suggested " Evangelium

per anni circulum dispositum," a copy of the Gospels divided

into lections, or portions appointed to be read throughout the

year, and referred to Assemani's Bibliotheca Orient. Clemen. Vat.,

vol. II. Cureton made the obvious objection that there

p. 230.

are no indications whatever of such lections in the MS. written

at the same period as its title. His judgment is confirmed by
the fact that there are also none in our MS.
Another explanation is that mepharre'she means "separate,"
as distinct from
" mixed " mShalUte. In favour of this it has
been urged that the canons of Bishop Rabbula of Edessa

(A.D. 412 435) ordain that in all churches a gospel of the

separated Evangelion da MKpharrSshe should be kept and read,

obviously that itmight supplement the Diatessaron of Tatian,
which seems to have been in general use before that period.
This is a very strong point.
The difficulty is (1) that the term mSpharrSshe runs through
the whole of Syriac literature, and is applied to the Pe"shltta,

probably by inheritance, as well as to the Curetonian ; (2) that

it is applied to the Psalms as well as to the Gospels.
 XX11 INTRODUCTION.

In Dr. Wright's catalogue of the Syriac MSS. in the British

Museum, we find that No. CLXVIII. contains the Psalms

according to the Peshitta version, with the title, katba: da-
tashbachtce : da-david: da-m&pharrSshe.
In a note to Dr. "Wright says " The word
this, :
da-^nSphar-
rSshe seems here really to mean '
of the interpreters, or of the

translators.' The strange thing is that such titles should be

prefixed to the ordinary PSshitta version, and that, too, in a

MS. dated A.D. 600."

The meaning " of the interpreters or translators

"
is corro-

borated by the title to No. CLXIX. (A.D. 14, 436), to which

Dr. Wright draws attention. It runs :

"
By the power of the Lord Jesus we begin to write (the
Psalms) of David, of the mpharr8she, which we bring out of
the Palestinian tongue to the Hebrew, and from the Hebrew
to the Greek, and from the Greek to the Syriac."

It is generally allowed that the word HJ^S sometimes

means "to transcribe" in Hebrew. Here are two cases in
which it apparently means the same in Syriac ;
and in a

Targum on Isaiah viii. 1, the epithet UT^QD is applied to writing

in the sense of "clear," "distinct." We must therefore leave
the question to further discussion on the part of critics. There
is, however, not much hope of their judgment being final until

we have the Syriac text of the Diatessaron in our hands. Then

the great problem may be solved. Was the Diatessaron com-

piled in the second century from the version contained in the

Curetonian and in the Sinai codices ? or did that version come

into existence only in the fourth century, when the use of

the Diatessaron was discontinued 1

Let us now see what our Codex says about the Gospel of Mat-
thew. In chap. i. v. 8 the name of Joram is followed immediately
 INTRODUCTION. xxiii

by that of Uzziah ;
and the three kings, Ahazia, Joash, and
Amuzia, who came betwixt them in Cureton's MS., are absent.
In v. 16 we come to the most startling variation in our
Codex. Although none of the surviving Syriac students, V

except the transcriber, who were present at Sinai in 1893,

knew of this strange reading until months after our return

home, and although Professor Bensly has not appended his

initials to the foot of the page, we shall not venture to doubt

the accuracy of the transcription, which, however, rests upon

the evidence of one pair of eyes only. We ask our readers
to consider carefully the whole passage, from v. 16 to the end
of the chapter.

It is hardly possible to find a consistent narrative in this

self -contradictory recital. Had v. 16 stood alone we might
have suspected a clerical error, but the occurrence of the word
lek ("to thee") in v. 21, and leh ("to him ") in v. 25, with the
omission of the words, KOL ovtc eyivaxTKev avTrjv, eW ou,
makes it almost certain that the statement in v. 16 is an inten-
tional one. Our Codex stands alone in its peculiar readings of

these three verses, and doubtless some critics will be inclined

to set its authority against that of all the oldest Greek MSS.
of all the versions, and of its own sister manuscript, the Cure-
tonian. If so, we hope they will be consistent, and make its

text the touch-stone of accuracy everywhere else, not forgetting

its reading of v, 18, "when they had not come near one to

another, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost."

In the meantime, there are some considerations bearing on
this subject which we do well to keep in mind.
shall

We have in Matthew's narrative, and in Luke's, two genea-

logies, both of Joseph only. Possibly the one was on the father's

fL'tAi *rts*^s * . AS * J . r -r '

<r- ^
/~4-t *J7x/w^.
XXIV INTRODUCTION.

side, the other on the mother's side, and both are probably

copied from an official register, the last clause of which was

perhaps added at the time of the Presentation in the Temple,

and Avas modified by the Evangelist when he became fully

acquainted with the story of Mary. It is possible that we

have here a partly modified form; but even here Mary is
called the Virgin a title which no one unacquainted with the
miraculous birth of her first-born would naturally have given
her.

The Joseph was troubled about Mary's condition

fact that

is simply inexplicable if he were the father of Jesus. And

it is difficult to reconcile the idea of his being a just man with
that of his wishing to put her away. These circumstances the
scribe of our Codex, if he were a heretic, has not been bold

enough to suppress.
We have no genealogy of Mary. This is only natural.
Our Lord's social position and civil rights were determined
by the relation in which He stood to one who was both His
reputed father and his foster-father. His disciples were eager
that He should claim the throne of David and drive out the

Romans, and they therefore laid great stress upon Joseph's

ancestry. Even after our Lord's Ascension, as they were

disappointed in their expectation that His second coming

would take place in their own life-time, they took care
that there should be a permanent record of this. We
can easily imagine that Mary would make known her
wonderful secret to a few only, and that it was not at once

published abroad to a nation who would have received it with

scornful incredulity. But from the few it was doubtless com-
municated to many of the disciples, and we can hardly believe
 INTRODUCTION. XXV

that they did not investigate the truth of a statement which

most of them sealed with suffering and with death. The

seclusion in which Eastern women are kept, not indeed in
their houses, but from social intercourse with all members of

the other sex who are not of kin to them, and their own
gregarious habits, make it highly improbable that Mary could
be guilty of a lapse from virtue without the knowledge of
some female companion. St. Luke states, chap. i. v. 3, that
he had investigated all these things from the beginning, and
it is much to be regretted that Luke i. v. 35 occurs on a lost

page of our manuscript.

Meanwhile, it is important to remember that we have not
ascertained all the facts which may throw light upon the
history of this Sinai Codex. In particular, we have not the
initial title, a title whose actual existence has been detected
from my photographs by Mr. Rend el Harris. It is on the
recto of the page which contains Matthew i. 1 17, and it

may yet tell us both the name of the scribe, and the place
where the MS. was written.
The various readings in this Codex afford much food for

discussion. Those of our readers who are deeply interested

in the subject will find many of these for themselves, but we

shall point out some which appear to throw fresh light upon
the sacred narrative, and some which in our humble opinion
indicate an older form of the Old Syriac version than Cureton's

manuscript.
In Matthew xix. 29, and in Mark x. 29, our Codex agrees
with the judgment of the Revisers by omitting the word "wife"
whom it is meritorious to leave for our Lord's sake.
from those
" "
In Matthew xix. 29 the word father is also omitted.
c
XXVI INTRODUCTION.

In Matthew xx. 12 we have "the burden of the day in the

heat," which seems a natural expression.

Matthew xxiii. 13 gives us a graphic picture of priestly

pretensions. "Ye hold the key of the kingdom of heaven

before men : for ye neither enter in yourselves, nor those that

are coming do ye suffer them to enter."

Matthew xviii. 20 gives us a reading similar to that of

Codex Bezae, "For there are not two or three gathered
together in my name and I not amongst them." We could
believe that the Syriac translator had confounded the Greek
words ov and ov, were it not that he has given us a perfectly
idiomatic expression.
In Matthew xxvi. 25, and in Mark xiv. 19, the question of
"
the disciples, " Is it I, Lord ? is put in a somewhat stronger

and more interesting form. It begins with a word which in

Syriac corresponds partly to the Latin ne . . .

forte, and to the
Greek /Z^TTCO?. This suggests that the question was a depre-

catory one, and as it cannot be rendered in English, we have

had recourse to the idiom which would probably rise to the
"
lips of one of our own countrymen in a similar case, Not I,
"
surely, Lord 1

In Matthew xxvii. 56 the companion of Mary Magdalene

is called Mary the daughter of James and mother of Joseph.

This is repeated in Mark xv. 40. Mary is called the daughter

of James two Palestinian Syriac Lectionaries which
also in the

were found by Mr. Rendel Harris and myself in the Sinai Con-
vent. It is difficult to trace her family connections, but amongst
other suggestions one of Mrs. Gibson's may be noted, that

perhaps we may link her with the genealogy in Matthew, and

that possibly she was the mother-in-law of the Virgin Mary.

 INTRODUCTION. XXvii

If so, she very naturally appears both near the cross and at
the sepulchre (see Matthew i. 15, 16).
In Mark 50 we are told that blind Timai, son of Timai,
x.

put on his garment before he rose and came to Jesus. This, /

to anyone who has watched Eastern habits, seems a more

natural action than if he had cast it away.
The most remarkable feature in our text of Mark is the
omission of twelve verses, chap. xvi. 9 20. This occurs in
other ancient codices, notably in both the Sinaiticus and the
Vaticanus. But in these it is open to question if their absence

is not due to cancelling by a later hand. In ours there can be

no doubt that they never existed. This is made abundantly
clear by the frontispiece to this volume, which represents the

page on which St. Mark ends and St. Luke begins. The space
betwixt the two is on the hand column, that is the second
left

column, on the page, for our readers must remember that

Syriac is read from right to left ; the intervening space is filled

up by the words written with red ink, "Here endeth the

Gospel of Mark." Then comes a line of ornamental dots, and
" The Gospel of Luke," also in red.
then,
The subject is too perplexing to enter on here, but it is

worthy of remark, that in the Greek codices where these twelve

verses do occur, the word re\o? ("end") is always found after
verse 8 and also after verse 20. What is very strange is that

these verses must exist in Cureton's manuscript, for all that is

there preserved to us of Mark's Gospel is xvi. 17, 18, 19, 20.

The testimony of the Old Syriac version to their being

part of the sacred record is therefore equivocal. We may

hope that fresh light will be thrown on this subject

through the investigations which have been prompted by

 XXviii INTRODUCTION.

Mr. F. C. Conybeare's remarkable discovery of the signature,

Ariston Erizou (" Ariston the Presbyter's") to the last twelve

verses of Mark xvi. in an Armenian MS. of the tenth century.

Our readers will find this interesting subject fully discussed in

the Expositor for September 1894.

i In Luke i. 63, 64 we have the statement, " and they
J mar-
"
veiled all transferred to its natural place, so that it becomes
an effect produced by the string of Zacharias' tongue being
suddenly loosened, and not simply by his writing the name
of John.

In Luke iv. 17 a beautifully characteristic touch is restored

V
to the narrative of our Lord's conduct in the synagogue of

Nazareth. Before He stood up to read, He waited modestly

until the book of Isaiah the prophet was put into His hand.
In Luke x. 41 our Lord's praise of Mary is
accompanied
by no reproach to Martha.
In Luke xv. 30 we seem to hear the angry tone of the
" Thou him
elder brother as he says, hast killed for th^t. fatted

calf."

In Luke xvi. 20 we learn that Lazarus was a poor man,

but possibly not a beggar.
In Luke xxii. we have a fresh arrangement of the narrative
from v. 17 to v. 21.

In Luke xxiii. 37 we are told that the crown of thorns

was placed on our Lord's head whilst He was suspended on

the cross.
In Luke xxiv. 47 we have the distinct assertion from His

own His divinity, and of His being the Messiah, "and

lips of

that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in

my name."
 INTRODUCTION. xxix

In John iv. 36 we are told that the reaper straightway

receiveth wages. This, we may safely affirm, agrees with the

experience of every earnest worker in the Lord's harvest-field.

In John vi. 59, " These things said he in the
synagogue as
he taught in Capernaum," becomes "These
things said he in
Capernaum, in the synagogue, as he taught." This reading
would lead us to suspect that our English version of the

Gospels shew a misunderstanding of the Greek text -ravra

etTrev ev avvaywyij SiSdaKwv ev KctTrepvaov/j,. Here 8tSd-
(TK(ov
probably refers rather to avvaywyfj which precedes it,

than to ev Kcurepvaovfj, which follows.

In John vii. 48 we read, " For who of the chief men or of
the Pharisees has believed on him ?
only this mob, which
knoweth not the law."
In John viii. 57 the question, ''And hath Abraham seen
"
thee ? follows more naturally on our Lord's previous state-
" "
ment, than the usual reading, And hast thou seen Abraham 1

In John ix. 35 we observe that our Lord calls Himself Son

of man instead of Son of God. All passages in this Codex
bearing on the assertion of His divinity must have a special
interest, and we therefore note in connection with it the ques-
tion of the demons in Luke viii.
" What have I to do with
28,
"
thee, Jesus, thou Son of God Most High ?

If this assertion is weakened by the statement in our Lord's

prayer, as recorded in John xvii. 5, " And now also give me

the glory, my Father, from beside thyself, from that which
thou gavest me when the world was not yet," instead of "The
glory that I had with thee before the world was," we notice

that this is
only in agreement with the words of v. 24. The
assertion of His divinity is as clear and strong as ever in
 XXX INTRODUCTION.

John xx. 31. And we perceive from John xvii. 5, 6, that

some part of this glory at least, is "the men which thou
gavest me out of the world."
In John xi. 38 we are told that the grave of Lazarus was
an artificial one, hewn out of the rock, like a cave. We can
see a vivid picture also of how Martha was startled, when she
saw the bystanders obeying our Lord's command, from her
" are they taking
"
exclamation, Lord, why away the stone ?

From John xii. 3 we learn that Mary began her loving

ministrations to our Lord by pouring the ointment first on His
head.

In John xiii. 34 a change in the punctuation shews us that

our Lord said, "Arid now a new commandment I give unto

you, that ye love one another."

In John xiii. 37 a similar change shews us that Peter said,
" down my life now for thy sake."
I will lay

In John xvii. 1 1 we have an addition to one of our Lord's

prayers for His people, " my holy Father, take, keep them
in thy name."

The effect of the transposition of the narrative in John

xviii. is to shew that Caiaphas, not Annas, was the high priest

Q who questioned our Lord, and to make the story of Peter's

denial an unbroken narrative. It seems as if we had now the
episode in something like its original form.
In John xx. 8 Peter shares with John the credit of having
been first to see and believe in our Lord's resurrection.
The interpolations in our Codex are not numerous. That
which will attract most attention is already known from
" Woe what hath be-
Codex Bezae in Luke xxiii. 48, unto us,
"
fallen us ? woe unto us, for our sins !
 INTRODUCTION. XXxi

Another occurs in John xx. 16. Here we are told that

Mary Magdalene, when she recognised our Lord by the sound

of her own name, "ran towards him, that she
might touch
him."
In John vi. 63 we are told that it is the Spirit that

quickeneth the body ;

and in John iii. 6 that God is a living

Spirit.
Some of these readings, as we have already said, indicate
a greater antiquity for the Sinai manuscript than for Cureton's.
But on the other hand, there are a few expressions which may
point to a later origin.
The chief of these is, as it seems to us, the persistent use U. kttit ,/

of the title, Our Lord, instead of the name Jesus throughout ^ ^^ .

;

the narrative of all the Evangelists. Also the pleonastic,^^ 7 </ <

" He was troubled in his soul, and was disturbed in his

phrase,

spirit," of John xi. 33. This is somewhat puzzling, as one

characteristic of our MS., as compared with other early texts, Q^
is its conciseness. I believe that the transcribers are willing
to assign it to the beginning of the fifth century, that is to an
earlier period than Cureton's, or any other Syriac MS. in the

British Museum. Their opinion is founded partly upon its

orthography. The facsimiles of several pages which are now

before the world, will enable other scholars to form an inde-

pendent judgment. We observe from the final colophon, that

the MS. must have been written at a period when prayer for

departed saints had become a recognised custom.

The Curetonian Gospels have been of inestimable value in
the work of New Testament revision. It is a matter of con-

gratulation that the Sinai manuscript,

discovered fifty years

later, makes the text of the Old Syriac version nearly complete.

^.,
XXX11 INTRODUCTION.

Yet the two do not perfectly coincide, as any one who will

place this translation beside Cureton's may easily ascertain.

Dr. Nestle, of Ulrn, and Mr. Rendel Harris have both ex-

pressed the opinion that it represents, not a duplicate of the

Curetoriian, but the very first attempt at rendering the Gospel

into Syriac, of which Tatian and the Curetonian are both
revisions.

Wehave endeavoured, by means of the marginal notes, to

indicate those variations from our English Authorised Version,

which have their equivalents either in the Revised Version,

as substantially representing the testimony of the most ancient

Greek manuscripts, in Cureton's MS., or in Codex Bezae as

the chief representative of the Old Latin.

We have referred to other manuscripts only in the case of

remarkable variants, which are justified by none of these three
texts. Beyond all these, a number of readings will be observed

for which our Codex alone is responsible. And we have added,

in an Appendix, a list of Greek words and phrases from the
Teytus Receptus for which the Syriac of our manuscript presents

no equivalent.
We would point those of our readers to whom the subject
" various "
of readings in the text of a divinely inspired book

may be new or startling, to the weighty and well-considered

statement of the late Dr. Hort, in his Introduction to the
Text of the New Testament in the Original Gh-eek, the joint work
of himself and Dr. Westcott :

" With regard words of the New

to the great bulk of the

Testament, as most
of other ancient writings, there is no
variation or other ground of doubt, and therefore no room for
textual criticism; and here therefore an editor is merely a
 INTRODUCTION. XXxiii

transcriber. The same may be said with substantial truth

respecting those various readings which have never been

received, and in all probability never will be received, into any
printed text. The proportion of words virtually accepted on
all hands as raised above doubt isvery great, not less, on a
rough computation, than seven-eighths of the whole. The
remaining eighth, therefore, formed in great part by changes
of order and other comparative trivialities, constitutes the
whole area of criticism. the principles folloAved in the
If

present edition are sound, area may be very greatly

this
reduced. Recognising to the full the duty of abstinence from
peremptory decision in cases where the evidence leaves the
judgment in suspense between two or more readings, we find
that, setting aside differences of orthography, the words in our

opinion still subject to doubt only make up one sixtieth of the

whole New Testament. In this second estimate the proportion
of comparatively trivial variations is beyond measure larger
than in the former ; so that the amount of what can in any
sense be called substantial variation is but a small fraction of
the whole residuary variation, and can hardly form more than
a thousandth part of the entire text."
Our study of this ancient Syriac version has convinced us
that it is not the work of an heretic, and that its peculiar

reading of Matthew i. 16 must be explained by some other

hypothesis. No man, who entertained the slightest doubt of

our Lord's Divinity, would have left John xiv. 1 in its present

very interesting form. And Luke surely gives us a strong

T

confirmation of the view that both genealogies are modified

copies of an official register, when he prefaces his own

account
"
with Jesus .... as he was called, the son of Joseph." We
would entreat our readers not to decide this matter from the
consideration of a single passage, but from that of the text as
a whole.
XXXIV INTRODUCTION.

In conclusion, I have to thank my sister, Mrs. James Y.

Gibson, for her careful revision of my proof-sheets ;

Mr.
J. Rendel Harris for several valuable suggestions ;
and Dr.
Eberhard Nestle, of Ulm, for the solution of some important
idiomatic difficulties, also for the marginal references to

Luke i. 25; John viii. 47, xi. 18, and

3, xi. 54, xvi. for the

changes of punctuation in John xiv. 1, 2, xvii. 24, 25.

AGNES SMITH LEWIS.

CASTLE-BRAE, CAMBRIDGE,
December, 1894.
 CORRIGENDA.
MATTHEW.
"
*IX. 9. After " publicans add "... followed him and."
" "
17. After spilled add " and the skins perish."
"
X. 3. For " Alphaeus read " Halfai."
XXIII. 24. For "gnat" read "gnats."
*XXIV. 39. Add " the flood " before " came."
*39. Add " shall be ... of men then two." . . .

"
XXV. 46. For " punishment read " torture."
"
XXVI. 20. For " the twelve read " his twelve."
"
29. For this fruit read " the fruit."
"
"
XXVII. 28. For " a robe read " robes."
" " " "
*60. For they departed read he departed (doubtful).

MARK.
"
I. 38. For " that I may read " and I will."
"
III. 7. For multitude read " great multitudes."
"
"
19. For " Iscariot read " Scariota," passim.
"
V. 23. For " hands read " hand."
"
*VII. 35. After " Be opened add " and in that were opened." . . .

" "
*36. Before a great deal more add "... them ..."
"
*VIII. 23. After " in his eyes read " hand."
"
*IX. 15. After " and straightway read " when they saw him,
they."
"
*22. Omit " to destroy (doubtful).
" "
" his house."
23. For the house
read
" " "
X. 7. For for this cause read therefore."
" " '
30. For mothers read mother."
" " "
*40. For others read another." (The word is masculine

singular. Professor Bensly gave it the soyaine"

points which denote the plural; and but for my

photograph, it might have been edited in the plural.

The parallel passage, Matt. xx. 21, has a plural

pronoun.)

* See Note on next page.

XXXVJ CORRIGENDA.

MARK continued.

"
X. 52. For Jesus read " He."
"
" " "
XI. 11. For and when read but when."
"
XIV. 44. After saying add " unto them."
"
" "
XV. 3. After add " them."
give
" "
*7. For " because of murder read there was a man who
had done evil and committed murder."
" " "
*12. Add again after answered."
" " " And
*15. Add to be crucified before the soldiers."

LUKE.
" "
I. For And read " But."
7.
" on the " "
50. For generation read unto the generation."
" " "
II. 36. For her husband read a husband."
*XXIV. 34. Omit " came."

* Those marked with an asterisk are

owing to additions and alterations
having been made from my photographs by the transcribers on the last
revise of their proof-sheets, and which did not come under my observation
in time to be included in this volume. A. S. L.
 EMENDATIONS SUGGESTED
IN THE SYRIAC TEXT.

MARK X. 12, /or VAil

XIV. 5, . 001 Alia

,. XV. 20,

LUKR I. 53,

I. 70,

V.I,
XIV. 21,

XX. 34,

XXIV. 23, -
JOHN VI. 49,

,, VI. 64, ?^>

X. 9,

,, XI. 17,

XVII. 7, read perhaps

XXI. 16,
THE FOUR GOSPELS
 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW
1 The book of the generations of Jesus the Christ,
2 the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham I
begat Isaac ; Isaac begat Jacob Jacob begat Juda c / ;

3 and his brethren Juda begat Phares and Zara of ; ,

fy A DCV X J J-

Thamar; Phares begat Hesron; Hesron begat Aram; '

4 Aram begat Aminadab; Aminadab begat Nahson ;

5 Nahson begat Shela1 Shela 1 begat Boaz of Rahab ; ;

i
cureton.

6 Boaz
begat Obed of Ruth Obed begat Jesse Jesse ; ;

2
begat David the king: David begat Solomon of the
2 B v - -

, .
Cureton.
7 wife of Uria Solomon begat Rehoboam Rehoboam
; ;

8
begat Abia Abia begat Asa Asa begat Josaphat
; ; ;

9
Josaphat begat Joram Joram begat Ozia Ozia ; ;

begat Jotham Jotham begat Achaz Achaz begat

; ;

10 Hezekia Hezekia begat Manassa Manassa begat

; ;

11 Amon ;
Amon begat Josia ;
Josia begat Juchonia
3
12 and his brethren in the captivity of Babylon ;
And 3 cureton.

after the captivity 3 of Babylon, Juchonia begat Sheal-

13 tiel ; Shealtiel
begat Zorobabel ; Zorobabel begat
Abiur 4 Abiur 4 begat Eliakim Eliakim begat Azor
; ; ;
4 Cureton.

14 Azor begat Sadoc Sadoc begat Achin 5 Achin 5 begat

; ;
5 cureton.

15 Eliud Eliud begat Eleazar Eleazar begat Matthan;

; ;

16 Matthan begat Jacob Jacob begat Joseph Joseph, ; ;

to whom was betrothed Mary the Virgin, begat

Jesus, who is called the Christ.
17 All these generations from Abraham until David
are fourteen generations and from David until the ;

captivity ofBabylon are fourteen generations and ;

from the captivity 6 of Babylon until the Christ are 6 cureton

fourteen generations.
1
 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 1. 18

And the was on this wise ig

birth of the Christ :

When Mary mother was espoused to Joseph,

his
i Cureton. when they had not come near one to the other,1 she
was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then 19*
Joseph her husband, because he was just, did not
wish to expose Mary, and was minded quietly to
2
* Cureton.
repudiate her. But while he thought on these 20
3
angel of the Lord appeared to him in
'Cureton. the
things,
a vision, and said unto him, Joseph, son of David,
fear not to take Mary thy wife for that which is
:

4
begotten from her is of the Holy Ghost. And she 21
< R.V. marg.

* r 8he
u !, ,, ,
shall bear tothee a son, and thou 5 shalt call his
shall call.'
Dame Jesus for he shall save his people from their
:

sins. Now this which happened was that it might be 22

6
Bezae fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by Isaia the

prophet, who said, Behold a virgin shall be with 23

child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call
his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is,
God with us. When Joseph arose from his sleep, 24
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him,
and took his wife and she bore tojiim a son, and 25
:

he called his name Jesus.

And when Jesus was born in Beth Lehem of 2,
Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there
came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, and 2
7
7 cureton. said, Where is the King of the Jews that is born ?
for we have seen his star from the east, and are
come to worship him. And when Herod the king 3

heard, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with

him. And he assembled all the chief priests and 4

scribes of the people, and said to them, Where

is the Christ born ?
They say unto him, In Beth 5-

Lehem of Judaea, for thus it is written by the

 2. 16. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 3

6 prophet, And thou too, Beth Lehem of Juda art

not the least of the kings of Juda for out of thee :

shall come a king, who shall shepherd 1 my people i R. v.

7 Israel. Then Herod called those wise men privily, Bezae.

and enquired of them that he might know at what

8 time the star appeared to them. And he sent them
to Beth Lehem, and said unto them, Go search con-

cerning him, the child and when ye have found

;

him, come and shew me, that I also may go and

9 worship him. They then, when they had received
the commandment2 of the king, departedand there 2Cureton.
:

3
appeared to them the which they had seen ins cureton.
star
the east ;
it went before them till it came and stood
10 there where the child was. And they, when they saw
11 the with great joy. And they came into
star, rejoiced
the house, and saw the child with Mary his mother,
and fell down and worshipped him and they opened
:

their treasures, and presented unto him gifts gold, ;

12 and myrrh 4 and frankincense. And it appeared to* cureton.

them in a vision that they should not return unto
5
Herod, and they departed by another way into their cureton.

13 country. And after them6

there appeared to Joseph e cureton.

the angel of the Lord in a dream, and said unto

him, Arise, take the child and his mother, and flee?
7
cureton.

into Egypt, and be thou there until I tell thee : for

Herod is about to seek the young child to destroy

14 him. And Joseph 8 arose, and took the child and his cureton.

mother by night and departed into Egypt and was

: :

9
15 there until Herod the king was dead that it might 9 cureton.:

be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the

mouth of Isaia the prophet, who had said, Out of Egypt
16 did I call my son. Then Herod, when he saw that
the wise men had mocked him, was exceeding wroth,
 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 2. 16

and sent and slew the children, all that were in Beth
Lehem and in its borders, from two years old and
under, according to the time which the wise men had
said to him. Then was fulfilled the word which 17
1 cureton. Jeremia the prophet1 had spoken. A voice was
heard in Ramtha, wailing and weeping, and much 18
2
2 cureton.
sighing, the voice of Rachel who was weeping for
her children, and she would not be comforted be-
cause they are not.
3 Cureton. But when Herod the king3 was dead,4 there 19

ton"
appeared unto Joseph in Egypt an angel of the
5
Lord, saying to him in a dream, Arise, take the
o cureton. 20

child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel :

forthey are dead that sought the child's life. And 21

he arose, took the child and his mother, and

cureton. came into the land of Israel. But when Joseph 6 22

heard that Archelaus was king in the room of his

father Herod, he was afraid to go thither and it :

7 cureton.
appeared
7
in a dream that he should go into the
s cureton. region of Galilee and he came thither, 8 and dwelt in 23
:

a city which is called Nazareth and the word was

:

fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, that he

should be called a Nazarene.

In those days came John the Baptist, preaching 3
in the wilderness of Judaea, saying, Repent ye for 2 :

the kingdom of heaven is at hand. This is he 3

cnreton. that was written 9 about by Isaia the prophet, who
said, Prepare ye a way for the Lord. And the same 4
10 cureton. John was clothed 10 in raiment of camel's hair, and was
girded about his loins with a girdle and his meat
;

11 Palestinian was locusts and honey of the mountain. 11 Then 5

went to him they of Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and

12
12 cureton. all from beyond the river Jordan, and he bap- e
 3. 17. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 5

tized them in the river1 Jordan, each 2 man con- 1 cureton.

7 fessing his But when he saw many

sins. of the
Pharisees and Sadducees who were coming to his

baptism, he said to them, generation of vipers, who

hath shewn you to flee from the wrath that is about
8 to come 3 ? Bring forth therefore fruits which are
3Cureton

9 meet for repentance : and say not,

4
We have * cureton.

Abraham for our father: for I say unto you, that

God is able of these stones to raise up children unto
10 Abraham. And behold,5 the axe has reached the roots 5 cureton

of the trees: and every tree that bringeth not forth

11 fruit is cut down, and is cast into the fire. For I
baptize you with water unto repentance : but he that
cometh after me
mightier than I, whose shoes
is

I am not worthy to bear he shall baptize you with

:

6
fire, and with the Holy Ghost: he who holds the
12 6 Cureton.

fan in his hand, and will cleanse his threshing-

floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner;
but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable
fire.

13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee unto John that he

14
might baptize him in the Jordan, and John forbad him,
8
saving:
<f
unto him, 7 1 have need that thou shou Id est
F)
7 cureton.
8 Cureton.

15
baptize me, and thou art come to me. Jesus answered
and said unto him, Suffer it now for thus it :

becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he

16 suffered him to be baptized.
9
And when he 10 was 10
cureton.
Cureton.
out11 of the water, the " cureton.
baptized and went up lo,

heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God

descending in the likeness of a dove, and it
abode
12
17
upon him: and a voice was heard from heaven, 12 cureton.
13
saying to him, Thou art my Son and my beloved, in is cureton.

thee I am well pleased.

 6 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 4. 1

Then Jesus was

led up of the Spirit into the 4

wilderness, to be tempted of the devil. And after 2

forty days and forty nights that he had fasted, he
hungered. And the tempter came near and said 3
1 cureton. unto him,1 If thou be the Son of God, say to these
2 cureton. stones that they become 2 bread. Jesus3 answered and 4
Bezae.
Cureton.
. . .

said* unto him, It

......
is
.

written,
-KTII
Not by bread alone
* Cureton. J
shall man
live, but by every word that proceedeth
e cureton.
O ut of the mouth of the Lord. 5 Then the devil led 5

him and brought him into the holy city, and set him
on the pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If 6
thou be the Son of God, cast thyself from hence for :

written, that to his angels he shall command con-

it is

cerning thee to keep thee, and on their arms they

shall bear thee up, lest thou shouldest strike with

thy foot on a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is 7

written,Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Again Satan led him and took him up, and set him 8

on a mountain which was very high, and shewed him

allthe kingdoms of this world; and said unto him, 9

These kingdoms and their glory thou hast seen ;

to thee will I give them, if thou wilt fall down

and worship before me. Then said Jesus unto him, 10

Get behind with thee, Satan for it is written, The

:

Lord thy God shalt thou worship, and him only

shalt thou serve. Then the tempter withdrew from 11

him until the time, and angels came near and were
ministering unto Jesus.
R. v. And when
he 6 heard that John was apprehended, 12

he withdrew into Galilee and left Nazareth, and

;
13

came to Capernaum, which is beside the sea, in

Zebulon and in Naphtali that the word might be
: 14

fulfilled which was spoken by Isaia the prophet,

 5. 3. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 7

15 saying, The land of Zebulon, and the land of Naphtali,

the way of the sea, and beyond the river Jordan,
16 Galilee of the nations the people that sat in dark-
;

ness saw a light; and those who sat in sadness and

17 the shadows of death light is sprung up on them. From

that time began Jesus to preach, saying,1 The king- l cureton.'

18 dom of heaven hath come near. And as .... was

by .... the shore of the sea, he saw two brethren,
Simon and Andrew his brother, preparing their nets
and casting [them] into the sea for they were fisher-
:

19 men.
2
He saith unto them, Follow me, and I will z s t^;.
20 make you fishers of men. And they in that hour & sb
,
^
-'

21 left their nets and followed him. And again he

came near, and saw two other brethren, James and
3 3 Cureton -
John, sitting in the ship with Zebedee their father,
22 and preparing their nets, and he called them. And
they left their father in the ship, and followed him.
23 And Jesus went round about in all Galilee, teaching
in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the

kingdom, and healing all disease and all sickness

24 which were among the people. And they brought
unto him many that were tormented with hateful
torments, and with sore sicknesses, and on each of
them he laid his hand and he healed everyone.
;

25 And when there was a great multitude who

were from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from
Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond
5 Jordan, when he saw the great multitudes, he went
up the mountain and when he had sat down, his
:

2 disciples came unto him: and he began to say unto

them,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the

kingdom of heaven.
 8 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 5.

Blessed are they that mourn : for they shall be 4

comforted.
Blessedare the meek: fortheyshallinherittheearth. 5

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst for 6

justice : for they shall be satisfied.

i 1
Cureton.
Blessed are the merciful : for upon them shall 7
be mercies.
2 Cureton.
Blessed are those 2 who are pure in heart : for 8

they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers : for they shall be 9

called the children of God.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteous- 10
ness' sake : for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and 11

persecute you, and when they shall say against you

what is evil, for my own name's sake. But rejoice ye, 12
3 Cureton.
and be glad in 3 that day : for great is your reward in
heaven : for so persecuted their fathers the prophets.
Ye are the salt of the earth : if the salt have 13

become insipid, wherewith shall it be salted ? it is

good
* Cureton.
for nothing, but to be cast out, and men 4 shall trample
upon it. Ye are the light of the world. And a city 14
6 Cureton.
6 Cureton.
that is
5
built on a hill cannot be hid. And a man6 doth 15

not light a lamp, and set it under a bushel, but he

setteth it on the top of a candlestick and it giveth ;

light unto all that are in the house. So let your is

light shine before men, that they may see your good

works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Think not that I am come to destroy the law and 17
the prophets I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil
:

7 Cureton. them. 7 For verily I say unto you, till heaven and is

earth pass away, one letter iota shall not pass from
8
Syriac 8
'relax.' the law, till all shall be. And whosoever shall destroy 19
 5. 33. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 9

19 one of these small commaudments,and shall teach men

so, he shall be called little in the kingdom of heaven :

20 but whosoever shall do and teach thus . . . cal .

except
. .

21 your uprightness shall exceed .... Ye have heard ....

to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever
22 shall kill shall be condemned in the judgment: but I
say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother
without a cause shall be condemned in the judgment:
and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be
condemnedbythecouncil:andwhosoevershallsaytohis
1 1 Cureton -
brother, shall be condemned to the Gehenna of fire.
. . .

23 If therefore .... thine offering on the altar, and

24 there r . . .hath enmity against thee, leave [it] there on
the altar, and go ... be reconciled to thy brother, and
25 then come, offer thine offering ... Be agreed with thine
adversary quickly, whilst ... in the way into . . .

26 prison. . . . unto thee ... no ... thence, till . . .

27 shalt pay the last farthing. Ye have heard that it

2
2 R-V
was said, Thou shalt not commit adultery
*

28 but I say :

unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman and

3 3 Cureton -
lusteth after her, hath committed adultery with her
29 in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck
it out,and cast it from thee for it is profitable for :

thee that one of thy members should perish, and not

that thy whole body should go to hell.
4
4 30 '
si It hath been said, whosoever shall leave his wife, S2'
let him give her a writing of divorcement : but I say
32 unto you, That whosoever putteth away his wife,
5 5Cureton -
against whom adultery hath not been alleged, he
causeth her to commit adultery. And whosoever
taketh a forsaken one committeth adultery.
33 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt
6
not forswear thyself, but shalt give unto the Lord an
 10 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 5. 34

oath but I say unto you, Swear not at all not by 34

:
;
* Cureton.
the heavens 1 for they are the throne of God: and 35
;

not by the earth for it is the footstool beneath his

;
2 Cureton.
feet 2 : and not by Jerusalem ;
for it is the city of the
great King. And swear not by thy head, because 3$
thou canst not make one hair of the hair on it black or
white. But let thy word be, Yea, yea and Nay, nay
;
:
37
3 R. V.
whatsoever is more than these is of the evil 3 one.
Cureton.
Bezae. Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for 33
an eye, and a tooth for a tooth but I say unto you, 39
:

That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee

on thy cheek, offer to him the other. And who- 40
soever will go to law with thee, and take thy coat,
* Bezae.
leave 4 to him also thy cloke. Whosoever shall compel 41
5 Cureton.
Bezae.
thee to go with him a mile, go again with him other5
twain. And whosoever asketh of thee, give to him, and 42
whosoever desireth to borrow of thee, refuse him not.
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt 43
love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say 44
unto you, Love your enemies, and pray for them who
6 Cureton.
persecute you,* that ye be the children of your 45
may
Father which is he who maketh his sun
in heaven :

7 Cureton.
to rise on the good and on the evil, and letteth down 7
his rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love 45
them which love you, what reward have ye ? the
publicans do thus. Be ye therefore perfect, even as 49
your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
8
Syriac
'eye.'
And do not your alms in the presence 8 of men, 6
that ye may be seen by them, and no reward be yours
with your Father which is in heaven.
When thou doest alms, do not sound a trumpet 2
before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues
and in the streets, that they may be glorified
 8. 9. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 11

of men. Verily I say unto you, they have received

3 their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy
4 left hand know what thy right hand doeth that :

thine alms may be in secret and the Father, which :

seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. a But thou, J omit r. 5.

when thou prayest, enter into the closet, and shut the
door, and pray to thy Father in secret; and thy Father,
7 who seeth in secret, he shall reward thee. And when
ye pray, do not say vain things, like the heathen: who
think that with much speaking they shall be heard.
8 Be not ye them for he, your
therefore like unto :

Father, knoweth, when ye have not yet asked him,

9 what is wanted by you. After this manner there-
fore pray ye. Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name. And let come ....

[vi. 10 to viii. 3 is on pages which have been lost from

the original MS. before John the Recluse used it in A.D. 778.]

8 Our Lord .... and touched him, say-

his hand,

ing to him, I will be thou clean. And immediately

3 :

4 the leprosy was cleansed from him. Our Lord said

unto him, See thou tell no man but go thy way, ;

shew thyself to the priest, and offer the sacrifice as

Moses commanded, that it may be a testimony unto
them.
5 After these things 2 a chiliarch 3 came to him . . . . acureton.
,, . , i.
i- .1 4 . i
3 Or military
'

saying, My servant is paralyzed, and lieth at home* in

1
6 tribune.
4 Cureton.
-r-r , T -ii
7 great torment. He 5 saith
unto him, I will come
r, ,
. . . .

S The chiliarch answered and said unto him, Lord, I am

not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof:
but speak 6 with a word, and my boy shall be healed. 6R v marg
9 For I also am a man who has authority, and soldiers
are under me 7 : and I say to this man, ........
 12 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 8. 9

Come, and he cometh and I say to my servant, do such

;

a thing, and he doeth it. When our Lord heard this, 10

he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily

I say unto you, I have not found faith like this even

among Israel. I say unto you, That .... shall come

n
from the east and from the west, and shall sit down
with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, in the kingdom
icureton. ofheaven .... the kingdom shall go 1 out into outer 12

darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of

teeth. Then our Lord said unto the chiliarch, Go 13 :

as thou hast believed so be it to thee. And in

that hour his boy was healed.

And Jesus came into the house of Simon C[epha] 14

and saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever.

And he touched her hand, and immediately the fever 15

left her: and she arose, and ministered to them.

And .... sunset .... they brought to him all those 16

who had demons and he cast them out with a word,

:

and those that .... he healed that it might be ful-

: 17

filledwhich was spoken by Isaia, saying, He will take

our infirmities, and bear our sicknesses. Now when is

our Lord saw a great multitude about him, he com-

manded that they should depart thence to the other
side. And a certain scribe came near, and said unto 19
him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou
goest. Our Lord said, The foxes have holes, and the 20
2 R. v. birds of the heaven 2 have nests ;
but the Son of man
hath not where to lay his head. And another of his 21

disciples said unto him, Suffer me go and bury

first to

my father, and I will come. He said unto him, Let 22

the dead bury their dead; .... come after ....
And he went up .... and his disciples followed 23
him. And there was a tempest in .... was almost 24
 9. 8. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 13

25 covered with the waves : but he was asleep. And

they came near .... and awoke him, .... to him,
26 Our Lord, save us for behold, we perish. He said
:

.... Why are ye fearful ? Then he arose, and

rebuked the wind and the sea; and there was a great
27 calm. But the men marvelled, saying, .... this,
that the sea and the wind obey him !

28 And when he was come to the country of the

1
Gadarenes, there met him two men .... demons, IE, v.
and were very wicked, ... so that no man could pass
29 by that way. What have we to do with thee,
. . . . . .

30 of God ? art thou come .... was feeding a good

[In many parts of this page the writing has been com-
pletely scraped out with a knife. J.R.H.]

31 way off from them. And these demons besought

2
him, saying, If thou cast us out, send us into that
32 herd of swine. He said unto them, Go. And they
came out, and entered into the swine and the whole :

herd ran to a steep rock and and the fell into the sea,
33 h[erdsmen] fled, and entered into the city, and told
34 all . of the demons
. the whole citv .... . .

9
2

5 .... whether is easier to say, Thy sins be for-

6 given thee or to say, Arise, walk ? But that ye may

;

know that the Son of man hath power on earth to

forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy),
Arise, takeup thy bed, and go unto thine house.
7 And he arose, and took up his bed, and went to his
8 house. But when the multitudes saw it, they were
 14 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 9. 8

afraid, and glorified God, who had given this power

unto men.
Andhe departed thence, and when our Lord was 9

passing, he saw a certain man sitting amongst the

publicans: 10
11
2
But when he 1 heard it, he said, 12

They that are whole need not a physician, but they

that are sick. But go ye and learn what that is, I is
seek mercy, and not sacrifice for I am not come to
:

call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Then 14

came the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and

the Pharisees fast assiduously, but thy disciples fast
not ? Our Lord said unto them, The children of the 15
bride-chamber cannot keep a mourning as long as
the bridegroom is with them: but the days will
come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them,
and then shall they fast.
No manputteth a piece of new cloth on a worn- i&
out garment, lest the filling-up of the new piece
should draw away the weak parts of the worn-out one,
and the rent should be worse than before. And also 17

they do not put new wine into worn-out wine-skins,

lest the wine split these wine-skins, and the wine be

spilled: but they put new wine into new wine-skins,

*

and both are preserved. While he spake with them, is

behold, a certain ruler of their synagogue came, and

falling down, worshipped him, saying, My daughter
is now dead but lay thy hand, and she shall live.
:

And our Lord arose, and went with him, he and his 19

disciples. And
behold, a woman, who had an issue 20
of blood twelve years, came and touched the hem
of his garment: for she said within herself, If I may 21
 9. 36. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 15

but touch the hem of his garment, I shall be healed.

22 And he turned, and said unto her, Daughter, thy faith
hath saved thee. And from that hour that woman
23 was made whole. And when our Lord came into the
house of that ruler of the synagogue, and saw the
minstrels and the crowd who were making a tumult,
24 he said unto them, Give place for the maid is not
:

25 dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed at him. And

when he had put out the crowd, he came and touched
26 her hand, and immediately she arose. And the fame
27 hereof went abroad into all that land. And as our
Lord passed by, two blind men followed him, crying
with a loud voice, Have mercy on us, thou son of
28 David. And when he was come into the house, the
blind men came to him: he saith unto them, Believe

ye that I am able to do this ? They say unto him,

29 Yea, our Lord, we believe. Then touched he their
eyes, saying, According as ye believed be it unto you.
30 And immediately their eyes were opened and our
;

Lord charged them, saying unto them, Behold, see

31 that ye tell it to no man. And when they had gone
out, they made it known to every man in that
32 country. And after they had gone out, they brought

33 to him a dumb man 1 possessed with a demon. And 1

syriac

when the demon had gone out of him, the dumb demon rode
upon.'
spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was
never so seen in Israel.
35 2
And our Lord went cities and villages,
among the ->
omit r. 34.

teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the

gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness
36 and every disease. But when he saw the multitudes,
he had compassion on them, because they were weary,
and were scattered as sheep having no shepherd.
 16 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 9. 37

Then he unto his disciples, The harvest is

saith 37

plenteous, and the labourers few pray ye therefore ;

38

the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth

labourers into his harvest.
And he called his twelve, and gave them power 10
1
to cast out unclean spirits, and to heal every sickness
and every disease. Now these are the names of his 2

twelve disciples The first, Simon Peter, and Andrew

;

his brother and James and John the sons of Zebe-

;

dee; and Philip and Bar-Tholomi and Thomas, and 3 ;

Matthew the publican and James the son of ;

Alphseus and Simon the Zealot, and Juda the 4

;

son of James, and Juda Iscariot, he who was the

betrayer. And our Lord sent forth these his twelve 5
disciples, and commanded them, saying unto them,
Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any
city of the Samaritans enter ye not but go to the 6 :

2 syriac
'wander-
lost
2
sheepr of the house of Israel. And as ye go, 7
.

ing-'
preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven cometh near.
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast 8
out demons freely ye have received, freely give.
:

Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your 9

purses, nor scrip for the way, neither two coats, 10

neither shoes, nor yet staves for the workman is :

worthy of his meat. Into whatsoever city ye enter, 11

inquire who
worthy; and be there till ye go
is

3
striae thence. And when ye come into an house, salute 3 12
"

to.' that house. And if that house be worthy, your 13

4
< Bezae.
peace shall be on but if not, your peace shall return
it :

upon you. Whosoever

shall not receive you, nor hear 14

your words, when ye depart out of that house or out

of that city, shake off the dust of your feet.
And verily I say unto you, that for the land of Sodom 15
 10. 28. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 17

and of Gomorra it shall be more tolerable in the

day
16 of judgment, than for that city. Behold, I send you
forth as lambs in the midst of wolves be ye there- :

l Bezae>
fore wise as serpents, and simple 1 as doves.
17 Beware of men who will deliver you
:
up to law
courts, and will
scourge you in their synagogues;
18 and before kings and governors shall ye stand for
my
name's sake, for a testimony to them and to the
19 nations. When they bring you near, take no thought
what ye shall speak for it shall be given you in that
:

20 hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that

speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaketh in
21 you. For the brother shall deliver up his brother to
death, and the father his son to death : and children
up against their parents, and cause them
shall rise
22 to be put to death. And men shall hate you for my
name's sake: but he that endureth to the end, he
shall be saved.
23 When they persecute you in this ye city, flee
2
from it to another : and
they persecute you in the
if
- Bezae.

other city, flee ye to another for verily I say unto

:

you, Ye shall not have finished all the cities of the

24 house of Israel, till the Son of man be come. A
25 disciple is not greater than his master. It is enough
for the disciple that he be as his master, and for the
servant as his lord. And if they have called the
master of the house Beelzebub, what shall they call
3
3
26 them of his household ? Therefore fear them not :

f^f^ of
l
for there is nothing covered that shall not be re-

vealed; nor hid, that shall not be made known.

27 What I tell you in darkness, speak ye in the light :

and what hear in your ears, proclaim upon the

ye
28 house-tops. And be not afraid of them which kill
 18 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 10. 28

the body, but the soul they have no power to kill 28 :

but rather fear him who is able to cast both body

and soul into hell. Two sparrows are sold for a 2
farthing and one of them doth not fall on the ground
;

without your Father. But even the hairs of your 30

hair are all numbered. Fear not therefore, for ye 31
are of more value than many sparrows. Every man 32
who shall confess me, I also will confess him before

my Father which is in heaven. And whosoever shall 33-

deny me before men, I also will deny him before my

Father which is in heaven. Think not that I came 3
1
Syriac
'cast.' to sow 1 peace on this earth I came not to sow peace,
:

2 Cureton.
but a sword. For I came to separate 2 a son from his 35-

father, and the daughter from her mother, and the

daughter-in-law from her mother-in-law. And a 3&
*
'
Synac
the sons man's foes shall be they3 of his household. But he 3T
of his
house.' who loveth his 4 father and his4 mother more than me,
* Cureton.
is not worthy of me and he who loveth his son or
:

his daughter more than me, is not worthy of me.

And whosoever doth not take up his cross and follow 38.

me, is not worthy of me. For whosoever will find his 3

life shall lose it and whosoever will lose his life for
:

my sake shall find it. He that receiveth you receiveth 40

me, and Le that receiveth me receiveth him that

sent me. For whosoever receiveth a prophet in the 41

name of a prophet, receiveth a prophet's reward ;

and whosoever receiveth a righteous man in the

name of a righteous man, shall take a righteous
man's reward. And whosoever shall give to drink a 42

cup of cold water unto one of these little ones in

* Cureton.
the name of discipleship,5 verily I say unto you, his
reward shall not be lost.

And it came to pass, when our Lord had made an 11

 11. 23. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 19

end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed

2 thence to t ... and to preach .... John ....
.

3 of our Lord he sent unto him who

4 should come
5
6

g
what .... to say unto the multitude
9 .... they .... king's .... But what went ye
out for to see ? A prophet ?
yea, I say unto you, and
10 he is more than a prophet. This is he of whom it
is written, Behold, I send
my messenger before thy
11 face, which shall prepare the way before thee. Verily
I say unto you, there hath not arisen among them
that are born of women a greater than John the
1
Baptist: but he that is little in the kingdom
12 heaven is greater than he. From the days of John
the Baptist untilnow the kingdom of heaven suf-
13 fereth violence, and the violent .... it .... For all
14 the prophets .... until John .... receive it ....
15 which was .... Who hath ears, let him hear.
16 .... this generation ? It is like unto children
2 Cureton -
sitting in the market,and sending2 to their fellows,
17 We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced ;

we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they
19
say, He hath a demon. And the Son
of man came eat-

ing and drinking, and they say, Behold a man glutton-

ous and a wine-bibber, and a friend of publicans and
sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
20 Then began to upbraid those
21 .... repented .... of Sidon
.... would have
22 .... in sackcloth .... repented .... I say unto

you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre

and Sidon at
23 the day of judgment than for you which art
 20 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 11. 23

exalted shalt be brought down to Sheol ;

23

in Sodom mighty works that have

been seen in thee 24

from the wise, and hast revealed them unto ^

babes .... before thee. All things are delivered 27

unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the

Son but the Father; neither .... any man the
Father, but .... Come unto me all ye .... laden, 28

and I .... my yoke .... and learn .... I am lowly 29

in heart .... rest unto your souls, for my yoke is 30

gentle, and burden is small. 1

my
At that time he walked 12
2
1
to
had known 7

sacrifice 8
mercy
and will he not draw, lifting n
How much then . . . men than . . . lawful . . . well ... 12
Then man
... to the thy hand. And he stretched
. . . 13

forth .... and it was restored like as .... And 14

as they went out .... how .... that it might 17

be fulfilled heard not demons, but t

by .... of the [demons]. And when he saw .... 25

sins and blasphemies shall be forgiven unto men :

3
but whosoever shall blaspheme against the Spirit it
shall not be forgiven him. And
whosoever speaketh 32

a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven

Cureton
him but whosoever blasphemeth 2 against the Holy
1
-

Spirit, it shallnot be forgiven him, neither in this

world, nor in the world to come. Either make the 33
tree good, and his fruit good; or make the tree

corrupt, and his fruit corrupt for the tree is known

:

by his fruit. O
generation of serpents, how can ye, 34
when ye are evil, speak good things ? for out of the
 12. 45. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 21

35 abundance of the heart the mouth utters. And a

1 J
good man, out of the good treasures which are in his cureton.

heart, bringeth forth good things ; and an evil man

out of the evil treasures that are in his heart,
36 speaketh evil things. But I say unto you, That
every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give
37 account of it in the day of judgment. For by thy
words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou
shalt be condemned.
38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees
said unto him, Teacher, we would see some sign from
39 thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil
and adulterous generation seeketh a sign no sign ;

shall be given to it, but the sign of Jona the

40 prophet. And as Jona the prophet was in the
belly of the fish three days and three nights, so shall

the Son of man be three days and three nights in

41 the heart of the earth. The men 2 of Nineveh shall
rise in the judgment with
this generation, they shall
condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of
Jona; and behold, a greater than Jona is here.
42 The queen of the South shall rise up in the judgment
with this generation, and shall condemn it for she :

came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear

the wisdom of Solomon and behold, a greater than
;

Solomon is here.
43 When the spirit of uncleanness is gone out of
a man, it goeth wandering about through places,
where no water is, to find rest; and when it hath
44 not found it, it saith, I will return and go to
my house, from whence I came out; and if it
corneth, it findeth it empty, and swept, and gar-
45 nished. Then it goeth, and taketh seven spirits
 22 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 12. 45

worse than itself, and they enter in and dwell in it: 45

and the last state of the man is worse than his first.

Even so shall it be unto this wicked generation.

While he yet talked to the multitude, behold, his 46
mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to
x
'R.V. marg'. speak with him. But he answered and said unto 48
him that told him, Who is my mother ? or who are
my brethren ? And he stretched forth his hand 49
towards his disciples, and said, These are my mother
and my brethren for whosoever doeth the will of 50
;

my Father which is in heaven, he is my brother and

my sisters and my mother.
The same day Jesus went out, and sat by the 13
sea-side. And great multitudes were gathered to-
2

gether unto him, and he went up and sat in a ship;

and the whole multitude stood on the shore of the
sea. And he
spake with them many things in 3

parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow

seed and when he sowed, some fell by the way-side,
;
4

and the fowls came and picked it up and some fell : 5

on the rock and because the sun rose, and there was
:

not much earth, forthwith it sprung up and with the : 6

shining of the sun which was upon it, it sank down :

and because it had not struck root, it withered. 7

And some fell among thorns and the thorns sprang

;

up with it, and choked it but other fell into good

;
8

ground, and gave fruit, some an hundred-fold, some

SE.V. 2
sixty-fold, some thirty-fold. Everyone that hath ears
9

let him hear.

And came near, and said unto him,
his disciples 10

Why speakest thou unto them in parables ? But he n

answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto
you to know the mysteries of the kingdom, but to
 13. 22. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 23

12 them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him

shall be given: and whosoever hath not, from him
13 shall be taken away even that he hath. Because of
this speak I with them
in parables that what they :

see they may and what they hear they may

not see ;
1
not hear, and may not understand, and they 1 may Beae
14 never be converted and in them may be fulfilled
;

2Cureton '
the prophecy of Isaia the prophet,2 who said, By

hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand and ;

15 seeing ye shall see, and shall not see for this people's
:

heart is waxed gross, and their ears have they made

3 Cureton -
heavy, that they not hear,3 and their eyes have
may
they closed lest they should see with their eyes, and
;

hear with their ears, and should understand with

their heart.
16 But your eyes, blessed are they, for they see
as for :

4 4 Cureton -
17 blessed are your ears, for they hear. For verily I say
unto you, That many prophets and righteous men
have desired to see those things which ye see, and
have not seen them and to hear those things which
;

18 ye hear, and have not heard them. Hear ye therefore

5
19 the parable of the sower. When a man 5 heareth the Pj'" an
who -'
word of the kingdom, and understandeth not, the
wicked one cometh, and snatcheth the seed from his
6 Cureton -
6
heart. This is he which receiveth seed by the way-
20 side. And that which was sown on the rock, this is
he that heareth the word and with joy receiveth it ;

21 because he hath not root in himself, a short time it

7

stays in him: but when there

is distress or persecution

22 because of the word, quickly he

8
is offended. And
that which fell among the thorns he that heareth
is

the word, and is in the care of this world, and in

the deceitfulness of riches and these;
choke it, and it
 24 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 13. 23

i Cureton.
becomes without fruit. 1 And that which fell upon 23
good ground is he that heareth the word, and under-
standeth it; and then giveth fruit, and produceth,
some an hundred, and some sixty, and some thirty.
Again he continued, and spake another parable 24
unto them, The kingdom of heaven is like unto
a man which sowed good seed in his field but while 26 :

men slept, the enemy came and sowed tares among

the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade 2&
was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, the tares
2 Cureton. 2
appeared. The servants drew near to their lord, saying 27
unto him, Our Lord, didst thou not sow good seed
3 Curetou.
in thy field ? whence the tares in it3 ? He said unto 2*

them, A man, an enemy, hath done this. His servants

*
say unto him, If thou wilt, we will go and gather
Coreton.
5 Cureton. them up.
4
He said unto them,5
Nay; lest while ye 29
Bezae.

6 Cureton.
gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with
them. But6 let them grow together until the har- 30
vest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the

reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind

7 Cureton.
them in bundles as for the fire 7 but gather the :

wheat into the barns.

Andhe spake another parable unto them The 31 :

kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard-seed,

which a man taking, sowed it in his field. And 32
it is the least of all seeds : but whengrown, it is
it is
8 Cureton. 8
the greatest of all herbs, and becometh a tree, and
the birds come and lodge in its branches. Another 35

parable The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven,

:

which a woman took, and hid in three measures of

meal, till the whole was leavened. All these things 34

spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and

without a parable spake he not unto them that it : 35
 13. 48. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 25

might be which was spoken by the prophet,

fulfilled
who open my mouth in parables I will
said, I will ;

1
36 speak hidden things which are from of old. Then
2 '
he sent the multitude away, and went into the
house and his disciples came, saying unto him,
:

Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.

37 He answered and said unto them, The sower of the
38 good seed is the Son of man and the field is the ;

world and the good seed are the children of the

;

kingdom; and the tares are the children of the

39 wicked one. And the sower of them is the wicked
8 Cureton -
one 3 and the harvest is the end of the world and
; ;

40 the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares

are gathered and burned in the fire so shall it be in ;
4 Tt V
41 the end of the 4 world. The Son of man shall send Cureton.
5 6
forth his angels, and they shall choose out of' his 5 curefon.

42 kingdom things that offend, and all the doers of

all 't

iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire:

weeping and gnashing of teeth. And

7
43 there shall be

then shall the righteous shine in the kingdom of

their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
8 8 n*
44 The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid Beza
in a field ;
which whoso hath found, he hideth it, and
with joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and

buyeth that field.

45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a

46 merchant man seeking pearls and when he had
:

found one good 9 pearl of great price, 9 he went and 9Cureton -

sold all that he had, and bought it.

unto a
47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like
10 10 Cureton -
10
great net, which was cast into the sea, and gathered
48 of every kind and when they had filled it, they drew
:

it to the shore of the sea, and sat down, and chose the
 26 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 13. 49
1
Cureton. 1
very good fishes, and cast the bad away. So shall 49

it be at the end of the world : the angels shall come

forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
and shall cast them into the furnace of fire : there 50
2 Cureton.
shall be weeping2 and gnashing of teeth. Have3 ye 51
Bezae.
4R.V. understood all these things ?
They say unto him,
Cureton.
Bezae. Yea. 4 He 5 said unto them, Therefore every scribe 52
5 Cureton.
Bezae. which is instructed unto thekingdom of heaven is
like unto a man that is an householder, which
bringeth forth from his treasure things new and old.
Cureton.
And 6 when Jesus had finished these parables, he 53
7 Cureton.
departed thence, and came to his city.
7
And he 54
taught them in their synagogues, insomuch that they
were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man all
this wisdom and mighty works ? Is not this the son 55
of Joseph ? and is not his mother's name Mary? and
his brothers, James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Juda?
and his sisters, are they not all with us ? Whence 56

then hath this [man] all these things ? And they 57

were offended in him. Jesus said unto them, ....
who is despised, except . . . and in his house ....
because .... belief. 58

At .... time Herod the tetrarch heard of the 14

fame of Jesus, and said unto his servants, .... 2
8 gyriac
1
midst of John the Baptist he is risen from the 8 dead there-
; ;

the.'
9 Cureton. fore great is his power. 9 For Herod had laid hold 3

on John, and cast him into prison for Herodia's sake,

his brother Philip's wife. For John had said unto him, 4

It is not lawful for thee to take her. And he would 5

have put him to death, and he feared the people,

because they held him as a prophet. But when it 6

was Herod's birthday, the daughter of Herodia came

i Cureton.
in,
10
and danced, and pleased Herod. And he promised 7
 14. 33. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 27

her with an oath that whatsoever she would ask him

S he would give her. And she, because1 .... was
l Cureton-
. . . .

of her mother, said, Give me [here] on a charger the

9 head of John the Baptist .... and because of ....
and because of them which sat at meat,he commanded
10 it to be
given .... And he sent, and took off the
11 head of John from the prison. And they brought the
2 Cureton -
head of John in a charger, 2 and it was given to the
12 damsel and she carried it to her mother. A.nd his
:

disciples took up his body, and buried him, ....

13 told Jesus. When Jesus heard of it, he departed
14 thence to a place apart the people : . . . .

15 who were from .... they came to him .... that

16 they should buy themselves He said unto
them, .... to them to go .... you to eat
17 to him, there is not five .... them . . . ....
18
19 to .... and he commanded the multitude to sit
down on the green, and took these five loaves, and
two fishes, and looked to heaven, and blessed, and
brake the bread, and gave it to his disciples, and his
3 Cureton-
20 disciples gave
3
to the multitude. And they did all

to eat, and were and they took up .... which

filled :

24 were broken from and they were troubled

. . . . . .

25 the lake contrary

. . .to them but [in] the fourth . . .

26 ... came unto walking ....

. .when they saw
.

that he was w waves of

. the
. sea
. .... saying
.

27 .... and for fear a cry and Jesus. . . .

;

the book; some

[This page is on a leaf in the binding of of it

could Itave been read by detaching the flap. This Mr. Rendel
Harris could not venture to do as the MS. was not our property.]

32 didst thou doubt ? And when they were come

33 into the ship, the wind ceased. And they that
 28 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 14. 33

were in the ship came near and worshipped him, 33

saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God. And 34

when they went up to the dry laud, they came
1 Cureton.
Bezae. to Gennesar. 1 And the men of that place had 35
knowledge and sent to their country, and
of him,

brought unto him all that were very sick and ;

3&

besought him that they might only touch the hem

of his garment and as many as touched were made
:

whole.
2 Bezae. Then came to him 2 from Jerusalem scribes and 15
Pharisees, saying unto him, Why do thy disciples 2
3 Cureton. 3
transgress the commandment of the e[lder]s? they
wash not their hands and eat br[ead]. He answered 3-

and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the

commandment of God, because of your command-
4R.V.
Cureton. ments ? For God said,4 Honour thy father and thy *
Bezae.
mother: and whosoever curseth his father or his
mother, let him die the death. But ye say, W hoso- 5-
T

ever shall say to his father or to his mother, It is an

offering, if thou mightest be profited by me and he 6- ;

5R.V.
Cureton. honoureth not his father 5 or his mother. Thus
Bezae.
have ye made the word of God of none effect because
of your commandments. Ye hypocrites, well did 7
Cureton.
Isaia the prophet6 prophecy concerning you, saying,
7R.V.
Cureton. This people honoureth 7 me with its lips, and in &
Bezae.
its heart it is far from me. But in vain do
they fear me, teaching doctrines of the command-
ments of men. And he called the multitude, and 10
said unto them, Hear and understand not that n :

which goeth into the mouth defileth a man but that ;

which cometh out of the mouth, this .... a man.

Then came near his disciples, and said unto him, 12
Knowest thou that the Pharisees when they heard
 15. 28. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 29

13 this saying were offended ? But he answered and

said, Every plant, that the Father which is in heaven
14 hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them
alone they
: be leaders of the blind. And the blind
man who leads the blind man shall fall with him
1 Cureton -
15 into the ditch. Simon 1 Cepha answered and said unto
him, Expound unto us this parable. He said unto
2
16 Cureton.
Bezae -
17 him, Do ye not yet understand ? Do ye not know
that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into
the belly, and cast out thence into the cleansings ?
is

18 And whatsoever proceeds out of the mouth, comes

19 forth .... and that defiles the man. For out of the
heart proceed evil thoughts of murders, and adulteries,
20 and fornications, and thefts, and false witness, and
blasphemies these are the things which defile a man
: :

3 Cureton -
but when a man eats bread 3 with unvvashen hands, the
21 man is And Jesus went forth from thence,
not defiled.
22 and went into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And
behold, a Canaanite woman came out of these coasts,
and cried,4 saying, Have mercy upon me, Lord, thou "c^ton.
Son of David my daughter is grievously vexed with
;

23 .... But he gave her no answer. And his disciples

came near and besought him .... for behold, she
5 Cureton
24
5
cried, and followeth us. But he answered and said -

<
to them, 6
I am .... of the
not sent but to the lost
7
F

25 house of Israel. Then she came near and worshipped

26 him, .... to him, Lord help me. But he answered
8Cureton -
and said unto her,
8
It is not meet to take the
27 children's bread and cast it to dogs. She said to him,
9
9 Rv - -

Yea, Lord, even the dogs eat from the tables of their
28 masters, and live.
10
Then he 11 answered and said, ncSS:
woman, is thy faith
great be it unto thee even as :

12 12
cod.-thy
thou wilt. And from that very hour her daughter
 30 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 15. 29

was made whole. And Jesus departed from thence, 29

and came to the shore of the lake of Galilee; and
went up, and sat down on a mountain. And great 30
multitudes came near unto him, having with them
the lame, the blind, the maimed, the dumb, and
1R.V. 1
Cureton. many others, and cast them down at his feet and ;

Be/ae.
he healed them and the multitude wondered, for 31
:

2 Cnreton. 2
they saw the dumb who spake, the lame who walked,
and the blind who saw and they glorified the God
:

of Israel. And Jesus called his disciples, and said, I 32

have compassion on this multitude, for behold, three
days they continue with me, and have nothing to eat :

and I do not wish to send them away fasting, lest they

faint in the way. His disciples say unto him, Whence 33
should we have bread in the wilderness, to feed all
this multitude ? Jesus said unto them, How many 34
loaves have ye ?
They said, Seven loaves, and a few
fishes. And he commanded the multitude to sit 35.

down on the ground. And he took these seven loaves 35

and the and gave thanks and brake, and gave to
fishes,
and his disciples placed them before the
his disciples,
multitude. And they did all eat, and were satisfied :
37
and they took up from before them what was left of
the loaves seven baskets full. And the men that did 33.

eat were four thousand, besides women and children.

And he sent away the multitude, went up, and sat in 39
3 Cureton.
Magdon. a ship, and came into the coasts of Magdan. 3
And the Pharisees and Sadducees came near, 16-

tempting him, and asking him to shew them a sign

4
f!V;
art
from heaven. But he answered and said,4 wicked A *

3
R?V. ma r'g. and adulterous generation seeketh a sign; and no
ton '

sign shall be given unto it, but the sign of Jona

the prophet. And he left them and departed. And j